whoa....... you ask for advice then you flip out on us, start bashing us and what we suggested? time for you to cool down a bit there ECW.
Question for Aquaclear users.
- Thread starter ECW
- Start date
plecostic, you should have filtration that is rated higher than your tank size. on smaller tanks (20 gallons and under) i run one filter that is rated for at least twice the tank size. on tanks bigger than 20 gallons i run two filters, and i overkill the filtration like crazy. my 55 gallon has it's total filtration rated for 365 gallons, lol. remember, the gph (gallons per hour) rating on the box the filter comes in is actually the rate when there is no media in the filter, so you can at the very least cut that flow rate down by 1/3 depending on what media you use.
STOP 1974PANTERA must be a rep for big als or something because they are CHEAPER on amazon with FREE SHIPPING (see above)!!!
*edit*On second hand I didn't notice it was you Plecostic now it sounds like you two are in cahoots trying to scam me into buying a aquaclear 110 from Bigals. If thats your guy's plan read above its not gonna work. I DO MY RESEARCH AND KNOW WHAT I WANT/EXPECT FROM A HOB FILTER!
Dude, chill out. I have no affilliation with Big Als, I just ordered some food and supplies from them yesterday, there was add for them being on sale on their fish home page. I didn't say it was the best price in town.
LOL, 1974Pantera I don't believe you really and you got ripped there are much better deals look around (why wouldn't you want the best price in town?)... Next time think about it before you say something dumb like go find a new hobby. Its very offensive you have no idea my level of experience and how many aquarium fish I have taken care of/take care of. I was just hoping for some constructive advice on aquaclears because I have no personal experience with them but all I get is biased opinons on this site towards aquaclears and only aquaclears as if they are the best and end it all of HOB's. Sorry bigfishmommy if I came across as flipping out on you and bashing you. Your advice/experiences as well as importracer were actually helpful and you two seemed nice and honest... I don't see myself as flipping out, it just shows you how passionate I am.
Forget my question, I now know MFK is not the place to ask for unbiased opinons on aquaclears LOL. I have found another site/sites that is not so biased towards certain types of HOB's and actually have people that have done research/ have experience in comparison. Don't you think a filter should make life and the fish keeping hobby easier, the better the filter the easier it should be especially on maintanence! If it weren't so then I would just waste my time and life scooping out a cup full of water at a time and treating it in a bucket to do what a filter does....
. LOL. IMO the aquaclear has one of the hardest maintanence. Think about it, other HOB filters just require you to slip one (easily accesible) thing out and rinse or change it for regular maintanance and doesn't render the filter almost useless if forgotten about and the biggest factor doesn't force you to clean it with a flood. Aquaclears IMO are poorly designed like a brittle tupperware comtainer with a pump. What makes it so great or better than any other HOB filter? I can pretty much DIY/cutomize any simple HOB into the efficency of an aquaclear with a bit of imagination. If I am paying with my money I want to find something that the manufacturer actually took time in designing. Even slip in trays make for less water bypassing of media. Why do you think Hagen designed the new Fluval C seiries like that. Sooo many design flaws with aquaclears, just because they work okay doesn't mean they are good/the best. I am not a blind follower.
Forget my question, I now know MFK is not the place to ask for unbiased opinons on aquaclears LOL. I have found another site/sites that is not so biased towards certain types of HOB's and actually have people that have done research/ have experience in comparison. Don't you think a filter should make life and the fish keeping hobby easier, the better the filter the easier it should be especially on maintanence! If it weren't so then I would just waste my time and life scooping out a cup full of water at a time and treating it in a bucket to do what a filter does....
. LOL. IMO the aquaclear has one of the hardest maintanence. Think about it, other HOB filters just require you to slip one (easily accesible) thing out and rinse or change it for regular maintanance and doesn't render the filter almost useless if forgotten about and the biggest factor doesn't force you to clean it with a flood. Aquaclears IMO are poorly designed like a brittle tupperware comtainer with a pump. What makes it so great or better than any other HOB filter? I can pretty much DIY/cutomize any simple HOB into the efficency of an aquaclear with a bit of imagination. If I am paying with my money I want to find something that the manufacturer actually took time in designing. Even slip in trays make for less water bypassing of media. Why do you think Hagen designed the new Fluval C seiries like that. Sooo many design flaws with aquaclears, just because they work okay doesn't mean they are good/the best. I am not a blind follower.i don't have an aquaclear, nut i saw mine friends aquaclear's filter basket float all the way up, pushing the filter lid with it
and now i'm a darterthis has nothing with the post but... crap i wanted to stay as a fathead not a feeder goldfish
I've used AquaClear units in the past on many tanks and every system has pros and cons.
Personally I really like the AC500 (AC110 now) and still have a 3-4 laying around some new in boxes purchased when these filters were ~$30-35, before they doubled in price.
I have experienced the lifting of the sponge basket in the past during periods of aquarium maintenance neglect. I put a rock but you could use anything that weights about a pound on top of the lid and it won't happen. When the sponge flow is reduced the water bypasses by going over the weir between the impeller intake area and the filter so flow is not stopped and you still have some oxygenation and partial filtration much like you would in Emp400's and the like.
The thing is that the AC design is so easy to clean that I don't see why anyone wouldn't clean it since it literally takes 1 minute.
I don't use the AC110 or any HOB currently due to my current tank configurations but I wouldn't hesitate again.
Everybody has equipment they like and they all have pros and cons depending on how you look at them. The con of the lid lifting is easily preventable with spending 1 minute at whatever maintenance interval is required by your bio load could be every week and could be 6 months (personally I just do it every week because it is soooooo easy but I sometimes skip a month with dual sponges with no lift at all and no weight on the lid. Other than that anything from a rock to something more decorative fixes the "problem".
Personally I really like the AC500 (AC110 now) and still have a 3-4 laying around some new in boxes purchased when these filters were ~$30-35, before they doubled in price.
I have experienced the lifting of the sponge basket in the past during periods of aquarium maintenance neglect. I put a rock but you could use anything that weights about a pound on top of the lid and it won't happen. When the sponge flow is reduced the water bypasses by going over the weir between the impeller intake area and the filter so flow is not stopped and you still have some oxygenation and partial filtration much like you would in Emp400's and the like.
The thing is that the AC design is so easy to clean that I don't see why anyone wouldn't clean it since it literally takes 1 minute.
I don't use the AC110 or any HOB currently due to my current tank configurations but I wouldn't hesitate again.
Everybody has equipment they like and they all have pros and cons depending on how you look at them. The con of the lid lifting is easily preventable with spending 1 minute at whatever maintenance interval is required by your bio load could be every week and could be 6 months (personally I just do it every week because it is soooooo easy but I sometimes skip a month with dual sponges with no lift at all and no weight on the lid. Other than that anything from a rock to something more decorative fixes the "problem".
To the OP. Were you just asking to bait people just so you could bash them? That's how it seems, so you really need to get a life. I don't necessarily disagree with some of the points you had, but think you need to calm down. I have to aquaclear 110s that are the only hob filters I'm currently using. I have them on a tank with 6 large cichlids and I have one end of the sponge float up an inch after not cleaning for a month and there appeared to be no risk of flood. I don't even know how long you'd have to put off cleaning to get the whole sponge to float up. The water usually starts looking dirty when just one end floats up, so I'd assume since people like clean water that's when they would clean their sponge.
I don't think the Aquaclear is a great filter though. I don't think the sponge is easy to clean on the 110. As thick as it is it takes quite a while to get it all cleaned out to an acceptable level. That's rinsing it under a tap, so I'm not trying to clean a sponge in a bucket of used aquarium water that is filthy as soon as you squeeze the sponge in it the first time, so you're trying to clean the sponge in dirty water. I just stick it in some declorinated water after cleaning before I put it back. I don't know if people just usually squeeze it in a bucket of water a few times normally and think well the water is filthy now, so the sponge is clean.
It is nice to have the sponge to clean instead of having to buy new cartridges. Technically you could stuff sponge or anything in any other hob anyways. I've had aquaclears quit, but no other hob I've ever used has done that. Not even the cheap ones that come with the aquarium kits from walmart I got when I first started fish keeping. I've had them randomly loae prime and run dry for a while before I found them. One of the ones I'm using on a temporary tank sounds like it's grinding now because of it. They do the job though.
Some people are the same way about eheims. I bought 2 based on the way people talked about them. They seem to do just as good a job as my renas and fluval, but no better. I came to figure out some people don't give useful information, because they like something so much they blindly praise it. You just have to take it for what it's worth and not be so affected by it.
I don't think the Aquaclear is a great filter though. I don't think the sponge is easy to clean on the 110. As thick as it is it takes quite a while to get it all cleaned out to an acceptable level. That's rinsing it under a tap, so I'm not trying to clean a sponge in a bucket of used aquarium water that is filthy as soon as you squeeze the sponge in it the first time, so you're trying to clean the sponge in dirty water. I just stick it in some declorinated water after cleaning before I put it back. I don't know if people just usually squeeze it in a bucket of water a few times normally and think well the water is filthy now, so the sponge is clean.
It is nice to have the sponge to clean instead of having to buy new cartridges. Technically you could stuff sponge or anything in any other hob anyways. I've had aquaclears quit, but no other hob I've ever used has done that. Not even the cheap ones that come with the aquarium kits from walmart I got when I first started fish keeping. I've had them randomly loae prime and run dry for a while before I found them. One of the ones I'm using on a temporary tank sounds like it's grinding now because of it. They do the job though.
Some people are the same way about eheims. I bought 2 based on the way people talked about them. They seem to do just as good a job as my renas and fluval, but no better. I came to figure out some people don't give useful information, because they like something so much they blindly praise it. You just have to take it for what it's worth and not be so affected by it.
